Ableton • Using M4L "Midi Envelope" + Utility like a VCA

This is one way I've been using m4l Midi Envelope + Utility a bit like a VCA:

In this case I have Utility on the group, and the Midi Envelope on the track. Envelopes are triggered with each midi note, and they trigger Sampler which is playing a chord sample (rather a stack of Samplers playing a stack of chords). The video starts without Midi Envelope active, then I turn it on to show how it can shape the sound. It is mapped to Utility, as well as Eight (freq + res). Because there is some texture in the sample + track effects, the filter enveloping brings some of that out nicely.

I turn on the LFO which is using a slow sine wave to modulate the “Time” of the overall envelope, which can be used in interesting ways to create movement and accents. Then I show how one can take advantage of the midi note length + velocity to get a variety of envelope accents.

One practical thing I am doing w/ this is making pads and one hits by running drones and longer recordings through this Midi Envelope/Utility chain. It’s an interesting way to resample yourself and extract sounds and moments that can be used elsewhere.